Editorial in SF Chronicle: Work to save San Francisco Bay only just begun

The San Francisco Chronicle features SFEI and Senior Scientist Letitia Grenier in their latest editorial advocating for renewed attention on SF Bay restoration. The editorial staff argues that the Baylands Goalsprovides a solid roadmap to guide restoration of the Bay's habitats and critical processes.

In the article, Dr. Grenier states, "We need to pursue 'green solutions, not gray solutions' - that is, work with nature, said Letitia Grenier, a San Francisco Estuary Institute scientist who led the update of the 1999 Baylands Goals. Green solutions mean breaching a dike to inundate farmland or salt ponds. Or restoring natural river channels and expanding tidal wetlands to prevent flooding and aid in cleaning polluted waters."

The editorial is merely the latest in a series of prominent media events that demonstrate the growing attention on a reinvigorated movement to restore San Francisco Bay. We invite you to visit the Baylands Goals project page or the primary site for further information on this important and ground-breaking publication.

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SFEI's Letitia Grenier served as lead scientist of the Baylands Ecosystem Habitat Goals Project, which yielded a report called The Baylands and Climate Change: What We Can Do. The report is an update to the 1999 Baylands Ecosystem Habitat Goals, which for the first time set comprehensive restoration goals for the San Francisco Bay estuary. Produced by a collaborative of 21 management agencies working with a multi-disciplinary team of over 100 scientists, it synthesizes the latest science—particularly advances in the understanding of climate change and sediment supply—and incorporates projected changes through 2100 to generate new recommendations for achieving and sustaining healthy baylands ecosystems.

An update to the 1999 Bayland Ecosystem Habitat Goals, the new report called The Baylands and Climate Change: What We Can Do urges swift action to restore our wetlands as a buffer against rising seas and associated flooding. Sea-level rise will increase in a few decades. If we do not act swiftly to restore our Bay Area wetlands, our cities will be in greater peril for increased flooding and infrastructure impairment. Our highways, airports, utility services, pipelines, water treatment plants are all threatened by rising tides.

The report synthesizes the recommendations of 200 scientists and government experts on climate change, sea level rise, watershed systems and urban engineering.